Our second demonstration dance Ballroom dancing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t realise just how important it would become in shaping my future until I had to take the place of one of my bosses following an accident. Dancing Queen A novel by Louise Anne Smithson Copyright© 2013 Louise Anne Smithson All Rights Reserved.

Alan and his partner treated Mum and me to an early dinner at a Brasserie near to the town centre in Luton as a thank you for the clothes she had given to Alan. On this occasion our joint performance was subjected to a slightly more considered examination by Mum and David now that the initial euphoria had died down. Nevertheless, all concerned agreed that we’d done pretty well in both dances. So far, the two demonstration sessions had been a credit to all concerned, if only we could maintain the standard. By the time we got to the coffee at the end of the meal we were beginning to look forward to the third session scheduled for 24th October.

‘So what have you two got planned for the Tango?’ asked Mum.

‘I think it’s time we did something a little more contemporary. How would you feel about ‘Ain't no other man’ by Christina Aguilera?’ I asked Alan. ‘It’s a bit of a mixture of styles with elements of pop, R&B, funk and jazz but with 129 beats per minute and a clear and consistent dance rhythm it should be ideal for an American Tango.’

‘How long does it last?’ asked David.

‘Just under three and three-quarter minutes,’ I replied.

‘It’s the right length but sounds a little raw for my taste, but you two are the dancers so you must decide,’ said Mum.

‘I’ll trust your judgment, Michelle, so please go ahead and prepare the choreography,’ said Alan.

I smiled.

‘I’ve already done so; we can have a run through tomorrow afternoon if you’re free.’

Alan looked at David to check that he didn’t object and then agreed to go ahead.

‘Have you had a chance to listen to ‘Black Bottom Stomp,’ for the Charleston?’ I asked.

‘Yes, and there is nothing contemporary about that, it takes you straight back to the 1920s, but I suppose it would be good for the Charleston.’

‘It is four minutes and twenty seconds long so I suggest we incorporate both a group dance with the others and a one minute solo partner piece for ourselves in both open and closed positions.’

(The open position is when the couple are dancing side by side, perhaps holding hands, and the closed position is when they are dancing face-to face.)

‘Are you planning to include a tap-routine?’ he asked.

‘Are you able to tap-dance?’

‘A little but not well enough for a demonstration, I’m afraid.’

‘In that case we had better not do so,’ I said.

‘You’re the boss, but I don’t see why you shouldn’t incorporate a solo tap routine for yourself.’

‘I’m not sure, I’ll think about it,’ I replied.

‘Alright, just work out what you want us all to do and we’ll run through it with the others on Tuesday evening.’

It was at this point that Richard and Helen arrived, having by chance chosen the same restaurant as us. I felt a twinge of envy at who she was with when I noticed them come through the door. Helen saw us, smiled, waved, and came over to our table for a few words whilst her partner confirmed their reservation.

‘Hi again, everyone, are you having a post-mortem?’ she asked.

‘Yes, and planning our next couple of dances,’ I replied.

‘We’ve just been looking at the two videos that we took and between us we have some excellent shots ready to edit together and put up on You Tube.’

Richard joined us, together with the waiter, who was planning to show them to their table.

‘Hi Michelle, Alan; I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to congratulate you both after your dances earlier, but I was button-holed by some guy wanting to know all about our filming of the dances. He also wanted to know when you two would be dancing again so that he can bring some others to see you.’

‘What was that all about?’ asked Alan.

‘I’ve no idea but I eventually managed to pass him on to Rob.’

The waiter coughed politely as if to say that he didn’t have all evening to wait for them. So they turned to follow him to their table, but one further thought occurred to Richard, as he was leaving.

‘By the way, Michelle; congratulations on your acting promotion.’

‘Yes, well done, I was really pleased for you when Richard told me,’ added Helen.

I smiled and thanked them both, but wished he hadn’t said it.

‘Acting promotion? What acting promotion is that?’ asked Mum.

‘Rob and Sarah have asked me if I would be willing to take on some of her duties whilst her leg is in plaster, in return for a temporary pay rise. However, I haven’t decided whether to accept yet.’

‘Why not?’

‘It would mean that I’d have to remain as Michelle until the end of this year.’

‘But that’s wonderful news,’ said Alan. ‘Then you would be able to take over the four Latin American demonstrations from Louise as well.’

‘I couldn’t do that; she has already agreed to do them.’

‘Alan and I were talking to Louise about her forthcoming demonstrations earlier this afternoon. I think she may be beginning to get cold feet about taking the lead, especially as you two have set such a high standard. I think she would prefer to be one of the supporting couples,’ said David.

‘And it would also give us some more possible dates for that demonstration in Bristol,’ added Alan.

‘If you haven’t frightened them off with the exorbitant fees,’ I said.

‘I don’t think five hundred pounds is exorbitant; if they want good quality dancers they should be prepared to pay for them.’

There was a brief lull in the conversation, but then Mum decided to contribute.

‘Well of course it’s up to you to decide, Michelle, but personally I think you would be foolish not to take full advantage of this opportunity.’

With three of them against me, and myself unresolved about the matter in the first place, it wasn’t too long before I’d promised to accept the offer of an acting promotion at work, and also to speak to Louise to see how she would feel about my taking over the lead from her in those demonstrations scheduled for late November and early December. I also agreed that Alan could go ahead and offer our services as visiting dancers on any free Saturday between now and Christmas, so long as Mum would also be able to come with me to help me get myself ready.

Alan and David gave the two of us a lift home and so we were in by nine thirty and had carefully packed away my costumes.

Mum turned to me and said: ‘We’ll soon have to start thinking about your costumes for next time, Michelle.’

‘I was wondering if I might wear your flapper dress for The Charleston, the one with the beadwork, if that is alright?’

‘Yes, of course, it would be ideal, and you will need the shoes as well.’

‘Yes please since high heels were unknown in the early 1920s.’

‘Also you wouldn’t be able to perform a solo tap routine in the midst of the dance, if you are wearing heels.’

‘I was planning to skip that as Alan is not a very experienced tap dancer.’

‘You could give him a few fairly simple steps to begin with and then respond with a more complex demonstration.’

‘Won’t that look a bit like me showing off?’ I asked

‘Not at all, you are merely showing to the audience that the Charleston can be danced solo or by couples in the open and the closed positions, and also that tap can be an element in the dance.’

‘I’ll work out a couple of possible alternatives and see what Alan thinks about it tomorrow.’

‘By the way, I think that I may also have exactly the right dress for your Tango.’

‘Which one is that?’ I asked.

‘I can’t show it to you it at present, but I do know where to find it. I was disappointed to find that one of my favourite dresses was missing when we got the trunk down from the loft, but I now remember that I’d put it away in a separate holdall as it needed some attention. I’m sure it is still up in the loft. Would Alan mind getting it for us tomorrow when he comes to collect you for your practice?’

‘I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, but I’m equally sure that I would be capable of retrieving a bag from the loft without Alan’s help.’

‘Alright, dear, but change into some jeans first and please take care on the ladder.’

Ten minutes later I was up in the loft with a flashlight following her instructions. Soon afterwards I emerged with a pink holdall.

‘Is this the one?’ I asked.

‘Yes I think so, let me have a look inside.’

I handed it down to her and she had a quick look inside before confirming that it was the one she was looking for and that I might now come down, close the loft door and pack away the steps.

‘Aren’t you going to show me?’ I asked as she had zipped up again.

‘No the dress will need to be checked over, aired and ironed before you see it so you’ll have to wait for a while. I’ll have both of the dresses ready for you to try on by Monday evening.’

‘Alright then, I’ll look forward to seeing them.’

Having spent most of my day looking quite glamorous, I now felt a little bit scruffy wearing jeans and a pink sweatshirt given to me by Sonia. I therefore changed back into the dress that I’d been wearing.

‘If you are going to remain as Michelle for an extra six weeks then you are going to need some more clothes, you won’t only be able to manage with those you have borrowed.’

‘I suppose so. I have nearly a thousand pounds in my deposit account, as I’ll be earning some more money over the next few weeks, perhaps I could dip into that and get myself some clothes.’

‘Alright and maybe I could get you something nice as an early Christmas present, as well.’

‘But Christmas is ten weeks away!’ I said.

‘Yes, but you know I like to be organised in plenty of time.’

‘I’m likely to be out of the office much more from now onwards and so we could meet up in Luton and do some shopping together during my lunch breaks or after I finish work sometime, if you like,’ I suggested.

‘I knew that I was going to enjoy having a daughter,’ said Mum, smiling.

I smiled back, but I was beginning to wonder about the future. I had to admit that I was enjoying myself as Michelle, especially for the opportunities it was giving me both to improve my dancing and also to take on new responsibilities at work. I was also pleased that Mum was so positive about it, but how easy was it going to be to extricate myself at the end of the year?

Alan and I had our first Tango practice session the following day and, as I expected, we didn’t do at all badly. In its original form the Argentine Tango was supposed to portray the love-hate relationship between a prostitute and her pimp and was filled with aggressive and suggestive moves. However, over the years a simpler, less vulgar, form was developed for popular consumption. The American style, in particular, became extremely popular and influenced many famous dancers of the stage and screen. It was this ‘toned down’ version we were planning to dance. Whether anyone would go for the more authentic Argentinian version later in the series remained to be seen, as the four ‘Latin dances’ for the last two sessions had not yet been decided.

Alan was not a particularly imaginative choreographer, but he was good at picking up new dances quickly and offering suggestions as to how they might be improved, so between us we made a good team. Thus after ninety minutes of practice we were both satisfied with our progress. We then decided to do a quick run through of my ideas for the Charleston before meeting up with the other couples on Tuesday.

‘Mum thinks that we ought to include a brief tap routine in the Charleston. If I give you a fairly simple intro incorporating a few basic steps, how would you feel if I then responded with a flourish?’

‘Great idea, let’s go for it.’

I showed him what I had in mind and we agreed to incorporate it in our planned routine. We also agreed to have one further session with the two of us on the Thursday as he and David were planning to be away the following weekend.

Next time: Additional duties

I shall be overseas next week, returning on 9th March. I will post the next chapter as soon as I can after my return.
Thanks to Bronwen for editing and to everyone else for comments and kudos which are always appreciated.Louise